


She Will Be Loved

by erenwrites



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Fluff and Angst, Gravity Falls Oregon, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Siblings, Rating May Change, Triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 04:30:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5991739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erenwrites/pseuds/erenwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mabel really just wanted someone to love her. Not like sibling love, like Dipper, and not family love, like Stan and Wendy and Soos, but actual <em>romantic</em> love. She would do anything to get someone to love her romantically.</p><p>When she meets Jackson, a boy a year older than her who actually shows an interest in her, Mabel thinks it's finally happened. Jackson is perfect, and everyone, including Dipper, seem to love him.</p><p>But Jackson turns out to be a bit different than everyone thinks. He's trying to fix Mable, in his... own way. Mable is fine with that; as long as Jackson stays with her, she doesn't care what she has to do to change. Dipper, however, notices, and he isn't so fine with Jackson anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Will Be Loved

"Who is ready to get this party started?" Wendy called, spraying silly-string everywhere. 

Dipper and Mabel rushed over in excitement, lighting up at the word 'party'. Mabel grinned. "Party! Dancing! Music!" She pulled out her own bottle of string and started pouring it on her face in the shape of a heart. "True love!" She squealed. Dipper laughed. "Oh, yeah, great. Another pointless, one night love interest." Wendy snorted and lightly hit Dipper in the back of the head. "Oh, don't listen to Dipper, Mabel-cable. I'm sure you'll find someone great tonight."

Mabel nodded furiously. "I bet! My first- er... seventh? Eighth? Uh... ninth love interest of the Summer! Summer romance!"

Soos came around the corner with his toolbox. "Hey doods, the party stuff is all set up, but uh, I think too many people showed up. It's a little... crowded." Wendy, Dipper, and Mabel all frowned and ran around the wall to see the crowd. 

It was big, to say the least.

And with that, the party started.

"Whoa! Even Pacifica is here." Mabel continued searching through the crowd. Even _Gabe_ was there! Dipper scowled at him. He hadn't liked Gabe from the start, how weird he was, how shallow he was, and how he completely, purposefully shattered Mabel's heart after all her hard work on that puppet show. 

And the fact that he was another one of Mabel's failed crushes. Every time she fell for another guy, Dipper got ready to catch her and pull her back up and shove the other guy down.

Dipper glanced at Mabel. She was wearing a skirt and a light pink sweater, and, of course, the sweater had an orange kitten sitting down with blue headphones on. 

It was cute. Honestly, Dipper was just glad Mabel still wore her sweaters after Pacifica-the-Pacifier kept teasing her about them. He couldn't imagine Mabel leaving behind the sweaters forever, but he knew as she grew up, eventually she'd get a new thing, instead of sweaters and knitting sweaters.

Dipper laughed as he wondered what he'd start getting her for her birthday. No sweaters, no yarn... Looks like he'd have to go with the backup plan: glitter.

Wendy's voice from behind him scared him. "Hey, dude, this party is off the charts. Even the new kids are here!"

"The new kids...?" Dipper asked, breaking out of his thoughts.

Wendy leaves against the railing, looking bored and cool as ever. "Yeah, man. Uh, the McCarthy kids?"

Dipper felt his eyebrows rise. "McCarthy? Like Joseph McCarthy? The politician?"

Wendy snorted and started pouring herself a drink of some unidentified liquid that Dipper really didn't trust no _not_ have glue in it. "I don't know man, I don't think those guys are related. The parents aren't really around a lot, apparently they work upstate and they just sent their kid Jackson here, as well as their kid Mark who is like, seventeen and a huge daredevil."

Let it be said that a month ago Dipper would've slyly lied and slipped in that he, too, was a daredevil, just to win Wendy over. But things change and Dipper had an epiphany a month ago.

Wendy was a teenager with a teenage group and she was bound to fall in love during high school. Dipper wasn't in high school. The age gap would make it almost impossible to keep up with her, plus, Dipper and Mabel were only here for the Summer. They'd have to leave eventually.

Also, it was hard to keep a crush on Wendy when she scared you. (Because she's a _flippin' courduroy!_ )

So instead of flirting, Dipper smiled. "Huh. What's Jackson like?"

Wendy sipped on her drink before spitting it out and nearly gagging. "Ugh- uh, Jackson is like, taller than you and Mabel but not as tall as me. He's thirteen, I think, but he is super ripped, man. He seems like a good kid."

Uh oh. Dipper face-palmed. "Great. Sounds perfect for Mabel... This isn't going to end well."

Wendy frowned. "Hey, Dipper? Why are you always so negative about Mabel's relationships? I mean, man, she's a preteen girl who doesn't have her parents around, Stan's form of showing family love is by letting you play with hazardous gas or shoplift, you're her brother, and if I didn't say this before, Mabel is a girl. She just wants to be loved by someone... You know, romantically."

Dipper sighed and sat on the steps. "I know it looks like I'm being a big jerk, but I just don't want to see her heart get crushed again. Gabe, that stupid boy band, Marmando, those gnomes, apparently a couple of vampires she didn't tell me about, that turtle guy, the guy on the first day we came here who she gave a 'rigged' note to, even employees at stores. And then Gideon. It never ended well- not one of those relationships, if you can even call them that. I just don't want Mabel to fall for the wrong guy."

Wendy put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, man. I get it. But sometime you've got to let Mabel to explore the world for herself and figure out who the 'right' guy is for herself. Just support her, kay?"

Dipper smiled. "Yeah. Thanks Wendy."

"No prob, little man." Wendy said before walking over to Thompson- who was once again without a shirt, looking embarrassed.

Dipper signed and walked over to the snack bar. "Let's see if there's anything edible." He mumbled, picking up a plate and pushing Mabel's relationships to the back of his mind.

Meanwhile, Mabel was having the time of her life. Worst or best was to be decided. After having an extreamly awkward run-in with Gabe, who was practically acting like a stuffier version of Pacifica, Mabel saw Gideon, who she avoided, and then she saw the turtle guy, who she decided to sit down with. Couldn't hurt.

"Hi! I'm Mabel. What's your name? Do you like turtles? I knitted a sweater with a turtle on it! I love turtles! We have so much in common. So what's your name? A long time ago I saw you and started talking to you it was on a bark bench, remember? I don't think you remember. You had a turtle. Anyway, what's your name?" Mabel said in a rush.

The guy looked nervous and sweaty and the definition of teenage boy. "Uh, I'm Peter." 

Mabel lit up. "That's cool! I have a-" She was cut off by a raven-headed guy who looked like a vampire. Okay, no fangs and no red eyes, and he wasn't all that pale, but totally vampire material.

"Hey, Peter. I got you some punch." Then the new guy turned to Mabel. "Who's this?"

Peter took the drink and excused himself quietly. "I've gotta go to the bathroom..." He nearly whispered, before running off. Mabel was left on a couch, looking up at a hopefully-vampire.

"I'm Mabel Pines!" She sad happily. "I live here. I like sweaters." 

The Ravenette smiled and sat down, really really close. Mabel blushed. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jackson McCarthy. I moved here with my older brother, Mark, we're staying in my aunt's old cabin down kinda near the forest."

Mabel grinned. "I live in the forest too! I live in the Mystery Shack with my Grunkle Stan and my twin bro-sif Dipper!" 

Jackson laughed. "I know, Mabel, I'm at the party... I know where we are, and the second thing you told me was that you lived here."

Mabel laughed. "Oh, right! Hey, Jackson, want to dance?"

The Ravenette laughed. "No way- stop joking around, Mabel. I'd be too embarrassed." Mabel laughed nervously. _Embarassed to be dancing in front of people or Embarassed to be dancing... With me?_

McCarthy Jr. Seemed to notice her hesitation. "It's not you, it's this dumb song. I hate Don't Start Un-Beliving, it sucks, right?"

"...oh yeah totally." Mabel finally blurted out, not saying that it was one of her favorite songs. She blushed. "Why would I even want to dance to that song, ick."

"Exactly! Wow, Mabel, we have so much in common. Want to hang out tomorrow?" Mabel's previous thoughts of being hurt vanished. Date? No. Play date? Yes. Chances of getting an actual romantic relationship with Jackson? 100%. She bit her lip to stop from grinning like a madwoman. "Yes! I mean, yeah. Totally!"

Jackson smiled and stood up. "I need to go to the bathroom, see you around, babe."

Wow-zah what.

Mabel frowned at his retreating back. Babe? She didn't like the pet name, honestly. And now she was even more confused than before- was she dating Jackson? Was that a date? Or was that a friendly think Jackson just did as a quirk? Or was he flirting? What was it?

Oh, well. She'd ask him later. Right now she just had to go tell Dipper.

Dipper had an uneasy feeling, but he knew that it was normal for him. He wasn't sure if it was because he had some of that awful punch as a dare, because he really was concerned Mabel was flirting with someone and getting her hopes up, or if something supernatural was about to happen. All of them were horrible. 

Now that he wasn't obsessing over Wendy, he honestly didn't know what to do. He didn't have friends, with the exception of Mabel, Wendy, and... Soos. Dipper brightened at the idea. He ran over to the snacks, where Soos was making himself a rather strange looking sandwich. "Hey, Soos."

"Hey, dood, what's up with you?" Dipper sighed and sat down next to the handyman. "Nothing, this party is boring. Wendy went off with her friends, Mabel disappeared, and Stan is over there committing fraud- not something I'm keen to get into. What are you up to?"

Soos smiled. "Nothing much now. I saw Mark McCarthy, though. He looked really tough- like a biker!" Dipper's smile vanished. _Why does everyone seem to be talking about them? I know they're new, but seriously..._

The handyman noticed his expression. "Hey, what's wrong? Don't like Mark? Want to be a biker?" Soos guessed. Dipper shook his head. "Nah. But I heard about Jackson- Mark's little brother. He's a year older than Mabel and I, but he seems exactly her type and I'm worried."

Before Soos could even respond, Dipper cut him off. "I know! I know I'm being overly protective and I need to let her decide who she wants to be with for herself, but the McCarthy guys seem really gangster-y and rough and I don't want Mabel getting hurt or getting her heart broken again. I just want her to find the right guy and be happy." Dipper finished, feeling lame. Soos patted him on the back. "Hey, Dipper, it's okay. When I said 'tough' and 'biker', I just meant appearances. The McCarthy's might seem a bit rough on the edges, but I've met Jackson and he seems like a really cool dood. Mark is a little more, uh..."

Soos pointed towards Wendy's group, and Dipper understood. "Mark's a daredevil slash teenage boy. Got it."

Soos nodded, and rubbed his neck. "You're a good bro., Dipper. Mabel's lucky to have you. But seriously, man, don't worry about Jackson. He's a good kid. He and Mabel would be great together. In fact, I have a feeling that they might get together, since Mabel had a crush on Peter and Jackson is Peter's friend, and they're both at the party and all."

 _"What?!"_ Dipper nearly yelled. Soos' eyes widened. "Whoa, bro., calm down! Go meet Jackson and keep an open mind, dood. You might even like him." 

Dipper angrily stormed off. He knew Soos didn't deserve that, but if Mabel was getting together with some ruffian right at that moment, Dipper needed to meet the guy first.

Wait... who was Peter?


End file.
